From The Inside
by Miyree
Summary: Ichigo's body begins to self-destruct. It's a race against time for Rukia, Chad, Orihime and Uryu to figure out what's wrong and how to fix it before the worst takes its toll...


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. Last I checked, I wasn't Kubo Tite.

* * *

Pain is a message. A message sent to the brain. Block the message and you block the pain. Sadly, this doesn't work when you're asleep, as Kurosaki Ichigo discovered at 3:24am. Stabbing pains shot through his left arm; remnants of no wound. His eyes opened just as quickly and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. Ichigo fought against the overwhelming desire to let loose a piercing scream – one that would surely rip through the night and awaken every resident of Karakura town. He didn't have to suffer for long; the pains left just as quickly as they came, leaving him dazed and exhausted. Breathing deeply, Ichigo tried to calm his nerves, convincing himself that this is just a side effect of the heavy training he has gone through recently. He relaxes his tensed muscles, slumping down onto his bed. The darkness reclaims him as he once again falls asleep.

---

Rude awakenings come in many kinds. The one that Ichigo was most accustomed to was the one which had become something like his daily alarm clock.

"WAAKE UUUP IICHIIIGOOO!" A soft orange leg kicked Ichigo in the face, not even successfully taking 1HP from the adolescent boy. Ichigo grabbed Kon and threw him at the window, to slowly and painfully slide down. Cradling his injured pride Kon glared at Ichigo.

"You're going to be late for school, you idiot! I, the great Kon-sama, decided to wake you up as a favour and look at what you did to me! How are you going to make it up to me, you – you – aah!" He was cut off mid-rant due to his face making sudden and painful contact with the floor. Ichigo continued walking to his wardrobe, pulling it open whilst yawning. He pulled out his uniform and closed the door, pausing only for a moment. He could still imagine the raven-haired midget lounging inside, ready to pounce and drag Ichigo off to his next hollow victim. She stayed in the human world no more – called back to her duties in the Gotei 13 once the Winter War, along with Aizen, had finished.

Ichigo gave his head a slight shake, as if to physically clear it of its thoughts. He turned his attention to the uniform in his hands. Right. School.

---

Sitting in maths, bored out of his skull, Ichigo couldn't help but wish that he had stayed in bed. He hadn't slept very well the previous night – he couldn't quite remember why, and the fog in his head made thinking about it more effort that it was worth. The cramp in his leg didn't help either.

A wail cut through the air, making Ichigo jump. A quick glance around the classroom told him that nobody else seemed alarmed, as if it was to be expected, or was a daily occurrence. No... it was more like they couldn't hear the blaring klaxon... Ah, _shit_. Ichigo looked down and saw his Substitute Shinigami badge flashing and screaming out: _"Hollow alert! Hollow alert!"_. Ichigo sighed, grabbed the badge and put it against his chest. His soul was forced out of his body, which slumped on the desk – a position not unlike the one Ichigo himself had adopted for the majority of the lesson. Ichigo didn't stop to look at his body. Seeing himself playing dead wasn't a hobby of his, anyway.

Feeling strangely rejuvenated, Ichigo dropped out of his classroom window and shunpoed towards the park, where he could sense the hollow's reiatsu. It was only a regular hollow, but it still somehow managed to place a stinging scratch on Ichigo's right arm. Ichigo couldn't help feeling miffed at this; he had achieved Bankai, defeated captains of the Gotei 13 and helped kill Aizen, aka stupidly-strong-psychopath-guy. Yet a lowly regular hollow had successfully drawn his blood. Needless to say, Ichigo's pride hurt a lot more than his arm. He sullenly returned to class and reoccupied his body to nap through the remainder of the school day. Not that Occhi-sensei could be bothered.

---

Ichigo lay in his bed, thoroughly exhausted. The stinging in his arm had evolved into a dull throbbing, which drained his energy with every passing second. Deciding that enough was enough, Ichigo staggered to his feet and made his way over to his desk. Taking a painkiller out of its foil casing, he knocked it down dry. He gripped the edge of his desk, waiting for the medicine to take effect. The throbbing was worsening. The wound reopened, blood dribbling out. Ichigo could feel his head heating up, as if on fire – a tell-tale sign that his consciousness was fading. His head started lolling around; his surroundings swimming in his eyes. Using the last ounce of strength he had, Ichigo thrust himself in the general direction of his bed. The darkness swallowed him up and his body flopped down limply onto the mattress. Ichigo wasn't to know this, though. He was too busy battling his feverish dreams.


End file.
